Question

    When I offered my late grandmother's lamp at a garage

    sale for Rs.50, no one took it. However, when I took the same lamp to a local auction house with a tag of Rs.850, it was sold. Which of the following, if true, best explains why the lamp was sold for a high price at the auction while it could not be sold for a much lower price at the garage?
    A One of the switches of the lamp was broken. Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    B It was insisted that anyone who bought the lamp had to use it as an actual lamp and not a showpiece. Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    C Prospective buyers at auctions are often more interested in the auction process than in the items up for bid. Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    D It was advertised that the proceeds of the garage sale would benefit a local charity, while no such claims were made for the proceeds from the auction. Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    E The auction house specializes in selling antique items, which is generally valued more highly than the discarded items sold at garage sales. Correct Answer Incorrect Answer

    Solution

    As per the argument, the same old lamp which could not be sold at the garage sale for a very low price was sold at the auction for a much higher price. This can be best explained by option (e), which says that the auction house specializes in selling antique items, which is generally valued more highly than the discarded items sold at garage sales. Thus, the old lamp might have been taken as an antique item by the bidders at the auction attracting a very high price as compared to its price at the garage sale. Thus, option (e) is the right answer.

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